During last year’s International Coatings Expo (ICE) held by the Federation of Societies of Coatings Technology (FSCT), the National Association of Printing Ink Manufacturers (NAPIM) sponsored a symposium that focused on manufacturing principles and some of the latest equipment.

NAPIM’s symposium exceeded expectations last year, and NAPIM and the FSCT are working together again to stage NAPIM’s second Printing Ink Manufacturing Symposium. This year’s conference, which will be held Oct. 28-30 prior to the start of the ICE Show in New Orleans, LA, will focus on meeting the increasingly demanding requirements of customers.

This year’s symposium will include sessions covering process variation, gage/instrumentation repeatability, Six Sigma, maintenance and training.

“It’s going to be a great symposium,” said Joe Cichon, chair of NAPIM’s symposium and senior vice president of product and manufacturing technology at INX International Ink Co. “The first Manufacturing Symposium last year focused on new equipment for manufacturing, with a few brief industry speakers. The response from last year’s attendees was positive on all presentations, but most asked for more in-depth industry speakers. This year our focus is on process improvement with more in-depth industry speakers . The key topics are gage repeatability and reproducibility, Six Sigma, Total Predictive (or Productive) Maintenance (TPM), 5S process improvement methodology and variation and how it impacts the manufacturing process. We will also discuss methods for handling quick change in production as well as documentation to help sustain process gains.

“We’re really excited about the symposium,” Mr. Cichon added. “It also gives everyone the opportunity to see the ICE Show, which is a nice benefit.”

“We’re very much interested in continuing what we began last year,” said James Coleman, NAPIM’s executive director. “There will be a plant tour Monday, followed by a reception. Tuesday morning will be devoted to Six Sigma, and Sun Chemical will present a project, plus there will be information on reproducibility and measurement. Tuesday afternoon will concentrate on total predictive maintenance and its impact on productivity. Wednesday morning will be devoted to training and measuring training competence.”

The target audience for this year’s seminar includes manufacturing managers, supervisors, and engineers responsible for the efficient operation of printing ink production facilities, and technical managers interested in a smooth interface between the lab and production operations.

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